Sheffield United vs Fulham – Preview | OneFootball

Bottom of the league Sheffield United host 12th place Fulham on Saturday afternoon. With time running out for the Blades, they will view the game against the Cottagers as a must-win.

Sheffield United very nearly claimed three points against Bournemouth after taking a two-goal lead. Ultimately, Chris Wilder’s men were pegged back late on by two of the Cherries’ substitutes.

Despite Sheffield United’s commendable efforts on the South Coast, the harsh reality persists for the Premier League’s lowest-performing team. They are still firmly rooted at the bottom of the division with only 14 points, trailing eight points behind safety.

Saturday’s visitors have hit a purple patch of late winning four of their last six games, including a last-gasp away win at Manchester United.

Benefiting from what could be considered as one of Spurs’ weakest performances during the Ange Postecoglou era, in their most recent game Fulham dominated their London rivals.

Marco Silva’s men demolished them with two goals from Rodrigo Muniz, his sixth and seventh in his last eight Premier League matches, along with a finish from Sasa Lukic. This victory marked the second time this season that Fulham have defeated Tottenham at Craven Cottage, following their EFL Cup shootout triumph.

Team news

The Blades will be without Max Lowe, Rhys Norrington-Davies, Chris Basham, John Egan, Daniel Jebbison. Meanwhile, Wilder revealed in his pre-match press conference that George Baldock will be “touch-and-go”. Cameron Archer and Anis Slimane are close to a return.

Silva’s Fulham have no injury doubts for Saturday’s visit to Bramall Lane.

Players to watch

After scoring his first goal for England’s U20’s squad in midweek, Oli Arblaster will be brimming with confidence. The young midfielder impressed on his full Premier League debut against Bournemouth, in fact, he ended the game being United’s top passer with an 81% completion rate.

The crux of Marco Silva’s team is the midfield. Having very good anchors in Joao Palhinha and Sasa Lukic to screen the defence as well as distribute the ball to their danger men such as the flamboyant Andreas Pereira.

Without question the Blades will have to overcome this likely trio if they are to win, and with the confidence and fearlessness of Arblaster he could pose them problems.

Since the beginning of February, Rodrigo Muniz has scored seven goals. In the Premier League, no player has scored more during this period, with only Harry Kane and Jonathan David surpassing him in Europe’s top five leagues. With Sheffield United having secured just one clean sheet throughout the entire season, the in-form player must feel confident about his chances of scoring.

Stats

Sheffield United have only managed to win one out of their five Premier League encounters against Fulham, although they have maintained an unbeaten record in matches played at Bramall Lane.

Fulham, often referred to as “The Whites,” are aiming to achieve their first league double over Sheffield United since the 2017/18 Championship season. Notably, Fulham have never secured victory against United twice within the same top-flight campaign.

Sheffield United have become only the second team across the top four tiers of English football to concede five or more goals in three consecutive home league matches, a feat previously achieved by Rochdale in Division 3 North back in April 1932.